Falcons place Mike Johnson on injured reserve

The Falcons placed right tackle Mike Johnson on injured reserve Friday, a move that officially ends his 2013 season after he suffered a broken fibula and a dislocated ankle earlier this week.

In Johnson’s absence, Lamar Holmes got the start at right tackle for Atlanta in the preseason opener vs. Cincinnati on Thursday night. After the game, Falcons coach Mike Smith said Holmes and rookie Ryan Schraeder “did a nice job” on the right side in the opener, but he also indicated that the club had to weigh whether to add another option at tackle, according to a transcript from the club.

To replace Johnson on the roster, the Falcons signed rookie tackle Jeff Nady (6-7, 305), an undrafted free agent from Nevada. Nady will compete for a reserve role.

whoever says this is a significant loss knows nothing about the falcons. MJohnson was never guaranteed to be the starter. very likely Holmes would have beat him out. he is a better pass blocker.. just his run blocking needs work.

if the falcons stay healthy, this is a easily a 12 win football team. definitely the best falcons team ever assembled. Matt Ryan just improves every year in the league and he will be even better next year, 2nd year in this offense, with the emergance of Julio Jones, having a 3 down RB for the first time in his career. Ryan will be a steal in FF